Reading Shakespeare s Poetry A lively exploration of Shakespeare s poems and how they speak to readers Reading Shakespeare s Poetry presents a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare s non-dramatic poems, providing insights into the individual poems, their themes and composition, and their relation to the cultural context of Shakespeare s world. Dympna Callaghan considers what makes Shakespeare s language poetic and shows how his poetry is comprised not only of lyrical intensity but also of the language of everyday life. Presented chronologically, lucidly-written chapters examine Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, The Phoenix and the Turtle, the Sonnets, and A Lover s Complaint. Special attention is paid to the distinctive ways in which lineation, rhyme, verse forms, and meter serve to delineate or erase the boundaries of Shakespeare s poetry. Throughout the book, the author explains how Shakespeare s language is influenced by predecessors such as Ovid and Petrarch while highlighting how ideas about the social and cultural function of poetry permeate Shakespeare s works. Offers an eminently readable yet scholarly exploration of the literary importance of Shakespeare s poems Explains the technical features of Shakespeare s poetic language Addresses the significance of the material form in which Shakespeare s poems appear Includes a discussion of songs, poems, and sonnets embedded in Shakespeare s dramatic verse Reading Shakespeare s Poetry is both a fresh and indispensable guide to the poems and a significant critical intervention. This is a must-have book for scholars, students, and general readers alike.
